62 WOKSHOP

"....."

The carriage came to a stop as the four admired the scene in front of them. After two weeks the workshop Ivan had commissioned had finally been completed. He paid off the remaining balance before leaving Fuhren back at the builder's company. With that settled the four of them were welcome to do what they wanted with the building. Ivan dismounted from the carriage as he climbed the pristine stone brick stairs that led up to the large white double doors.

He stared at the pool of water with a fountain in the middle that the stairs bent around on the way up. Its ceramic exterior made up four tiers as water sprouted from the bottom to the top and back down again. Though not in the initial design he had plans to make it and the pool of water it sat in illuminated during the night. Shouldn't be too difficult with some adjustments to the Green Glowstone found in the Orcus Grand Labyrinth.

With that in mind, Ivan continued up as he slid his arms on the smooth white guard walls that hugged the outer rims of the stairs, their height only coming up to his waist. The purpose they served was to just give support to those who needed it when climbing the stairs. Finally, after two minutes of climbing, he reached the large white double doors made of wood. His eyes glanced to the right as he noticed a small building attached to the main one with a door that matched the schematics.

As one could guess, that was his garage. Simply put its exterior consisted of a large metal door that slid up and down like a normal garage door, and dark wood along with the walls mostly made of white. Of course, it was a process Ivan planned to automate once he settled in, seeing as how he planned for it to occupy his vehicles in the near future. A button inside that controls the door for every vehicle didn't seem like an unrealistic option with Creation Magic.

He nodded at the smooth dark stone ramp that trailed down from the garage and onto the path before opening the door with a key the company gave him. With a click the door opened as he was presented to a room made of white with a rather ornate chandelier dangling from its center, seeing as how this was just part of the entrance he looked forward as three paths from left, right, and straight were presented.

And as per the schematics once he headed to the right he instantly met with the kitchen. Seeing as how it was a construction crew and not an appliance crew the kitchen was left pretty barren besides the granite island and countertops that hugged the walls and corners. But Ivan and Yue nodded as the space this kitchen had was very acceptable to them. With some appliances made from Creation Magic, this place would get filled up in no time.

Ivan turned his head as he heard the sound of skidding behind him, locking eyes with Ari who had already taken off her mask and almost slipped on the smooth floor that showed them their reflections. Making a reminder in his mind, Ivan wondered if maybe he could bestow the floors with a non-slipping property or something similar. As much as a nonissue it was, it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

For now, he just instructed Ari to put back on her shoes, he already had a plan to copy Oscar's lair with the way it kept itself clean. The four moved on from the kitchen and went to the door in the corner, this door led them to the garage. About as barren as the kitchen. But this was how Ivan wanted it in the first place. In a sense, this would be the workshop part of the workshop. And though it was already a huge space he already planned on expanding it… just not aboveground.

Returning to the main entrance, the four decided to head left this time. Being met by an assortment of rooms that held no purpose other than what its owners wanted to do with it. Less weirdly, a lot of the rooms were empty. As far as Ivan knows this workshop was supposed to have five bathrooms and twenty rooms. It had three floors, that much was discernible from the outside and the spiral staircase leading upwards in the entrance.

Each room they passed that was empty he went ahead and told Tio and Ari they may take for themselves, though the two only nodded to his words before following him deeper into the building. A laundry room, library, research lab, guest rooms, observatory, armory, storage room, recreational rooms, these were all things Ivan made a note of in his notebook as he walked down the halls. The path that led straight across from the entrance was just the living room, as barren as every other. For now marking down where they'd be held, though there would always be room in the future to make adjustments.

In any case, he was making these rooms for him to play around with his Creation Magic. If he was going to advance its practicality then he was going to need to push it to the limits. Sure, for now, appliances and tools were mostly what it was going to be used for but unless he reached the level of Oscar he was never going to be satisfied. To hell with affinities and talent, this was just his pride as an alchemist.

Having observed the first and second floor the four made it to the third. Meeting the balcony that looked over the front of the building. It was a rather grand sight that gave one the feeling of owning whatever their eyes laid upon. Aside from that, they went down the repetitive halls lined with crown moldings and black polished porcelain that hugged the lower walls of the hall. Illuminated with mana crystals connected to embedded fixtures on the walls, the four met empty rooms.

That was when they finally laid eyes upon something different, grand ornate doors marked with patterns and materials completely different from any of the doors that they've seen in this building. They did not doubt that this was the master bedroom. Without another moment of hesitation, Ari went for the door as the contents of the room were revealed to them. Compared to the other rooms this one seemed to already be fully furnished. A majestic rug lay on the floor that went from the entrance to the large pane of glass that made up the back wall. A chandelier again in the center of the room bringing a little bit of light, the knob near the entrance suggested it controlled the brightness.

Stepping further in this room was mostly made of wood rather than porcelain or stone, making it rather homey compared to the rest of the building. Yue leaped on the four-poster bed that sat against the glass wall at the end of the room directly from the entrance. Its red sheets that resembled velvet and the rose curtains lined with gold drawn. The desk in the corner and full body mirror in the other corner didn't diminish the room's style. Opening a door connected to the room led to a walk-in closet with plenty of room for the two's clothing.

Ivan also laid himself on the bed as he praised its comfort, then that comfort was soon broken by Tio and Ari who decided to join the dogpile. The four lay on the bed as their serene breathing permeated the room.

"Alright, it's time to get to work!" Ivan jumped up from his resting position as he was eager to get to creating and adjusting the house as soon as possible. The three followed behind him without any complaint as they realized it wasn't the time to lay around. His first goal was to set up the shop he was talking about. It would be separate from the building and rest on the other side of the trail connecting Fuhren and Ur.

Training Tio and Ari would be set aside for now while he tried to figure out how exactly this was going to work. He needed to decide carefully what he was going to sell, preferably it had to be something grand enough to earn a lot of buyers but not so attractive that it drew the attention of every major power in Tortus. Some of the elixirs he made for the Kingdom would have to go out the window as it'd be a pain to refute if they recognized them. Which was why it'd probably be better to sell tools.

Though that had its problems and that being they are likely to be identified as artifacts. Leading to a much worse situation than if the Holy Church and Kingdom recognized his craft. He talked it over with Yue, Tio, and Ari as they each brought up and supported different ideas. Yue supported the potioneer route while Tio and Ari seemed more inclined to the wanna-be blacksmith.

In the end, Ivan decided he would do both. If people were going to come over and cause a ruckus in his business then he was going to deal with them no matter who they were. What were they going to do if he refuted all their claims anyways? Ivan started drawing up schematics for the shop, though he would up the defense of the workshop before daring to open the store. It might've been a bad idea to open it up right across from his workshop but he wasn't going to open it far away if he was confident in his craft.

His current goal for the workshop would be that it could sustain major damage from someone on the scale of Tio, or more accurately that it could resist the strength of the dragonmen princess. What he meant by resisting is precisely that, he wanted the workshop to also possess self-defense capabilities.

Going back on track he brought the three to the front of the workshop as they looked over at the plot of land for their store. If it was going to be so close to the workshop then it was going to need to at least match aesthetically. Rather than being an eyesore, it needed to seem like an extension of the property. Something that would catch the eyes of any merchant or civilian who traveled down this path… not that the workshop already didn't.

The ring on Ivan's finger glowed as a mountain of materials appeared in front of him. This was going to be a rather lengthy process with a lot of trial and error but in the end, it felt like something he needed to make. At least it'll be easier to imbue the building with the properties he wants, different from the workshop that he couldn't trust himself forming in danger of it collapsing and not looking as good as it would.

First was the matter of shape and size, this store of theirs was going to need to be two stories or else it would look odd across from the workshop. With large panes of glass making up the walls that would attract passersby with its contents. The register would be directly across from the entrance as it had a staircase leading to the next floor on either side of it. And of course behind the register a backroom for employees to have some privacy, equipped with a fridge and some appliances.

In any case, this employee room and register would sit in the middle of the establishment surrounded by the products. Making it easy for anyone to find as it would be the first thing they see. Shelves, hangers, racks, if Ivan was going to sell both elixirs and tools then he was going to need a lot of displays. But why stop there? Clothing, accessories, appliances, all of these things would make a fortune.

The black wooden floor was imbued with a property that made it comfortable standing on even after long durations, devices in the corners that refreshed the customers as it eliminated both foul odors and blew out pleasant breezes. In a sense Ivan had made this world's first air conditioner, he made sure it wouldn't be too cold as that would only make customers uncomfortable. And to wrap the first floor up, male and female bathrooms that had about five stalls in each.

This was mostly to attract customers that'd enter to solely use the bathroom after their long journey, but then get captivated by what they find inside the establishment.

Now onto the second floor, similar to the first floor, it'd have a bunch of displays for merchandise and other products. Just minus the bathroom and register with the staffroom. This floor would just solely hold wares. Ivan settled for that as he made reminders to set up the same air system the first floor had. That left the final touches, Ivan didn't believe that no one would resist the temptation of slipping something in their pockets and walking away. This is why he made plans for security cameras.

A whole system within and outside the property that would be observable from within the staffroom. Meaning that for now, this place would be perfectly manned with two employees, Tio and Ari. One who watches the security cams for any potential suspects and the other that takes care of the business aspect. The display for the cameras would simply be a large monitor connected to machinery made with creation magic that would always show the camera feed. Each 'camera' is a stone imbued with a vision property directed at the monitor, the only necessity being replacing the mana crystal that acted as a battery every few months.

That left the outside, which was rather simple as all that needed to be done was imbue the glass panes with reinforcement magic just up to a degree that'd make it difficult for even Tio to break. The same goes for the walls and doors. Ivan was rather proud of the design for the automatic doors as it was just purely for the aesthetic. A little something to wow the customers that have never seen the tech.

Finished with the design Ivan brought Tio and Ari to begin with construction as Yue took the ring from him to withdraw the things she and Tio bought in Fuhren for decorating and stocking the house.

With that settled they all got to work in the next step of their lives, and as arduous as it was they were sure to be proud of the finished product. Making it all feel worth it in the end.

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It had been two days since the three got to work on the store. As Ivan had expected the devices for it was rather easy to make and most of their troubles amounted to having no construction experience. But after hours and hours of trial and error, they finally got it done. Celebrating after it successfully stood without a scratch after Tio swung her dragon arm at it. The three walked in as they were met by the refreshing breeze the air system hit them with, something Ivan was sure to replicate in the workshop.

The light did not bring any discomfort to their eyes as it bled a pleasant orange-yellow light that made them comfortable. An aspect Ivan worked hard to replicate as it was important to him that the customers didn't feel any anxiety when entering the shop, though a bit difficult when he wanted it to rest between the line of being dark enough to relax people but not too dark that no one can properly observe the products.

As for the back room, it had a comfortable couch that nearly brought people to sleep combined with the air system. A rather advanced fridge sat in the corner as it had a touch screen Ivan worked hard on, all so that it could dispense ice. Across from the couch was a large TV screen mounted to the wall, but rather than movies or shows, what was displayed on it was every corner of the shop as well as some of the outside areas.

Tio, Ari, and Ivan went up the escalators as they now stood on the second floor. They were a bit of an overkill just to go up a couple of feet but Ivan insisted on not skimping out. They observed the polished and glass displays before heading back down. There wasn't much to see on this floor especially when none of the products have even been made yet. Ivan wanted this to be a place that didn't discriminate against any of the races, meaning as long as one had money they'll take it. Whether it be humans, beastmen, or even demons he didn't care so long as they followed the rules of the store.

A sentiment Tio and Ari nodded to as they had no room to complain.

The three left the building and went back over to the workshop, Ivan was excited to show Yue the store. He entered the home as his nose was instantly hit by a pleasant fragrance. Following it to the kitchen, he was greeted by Yue who adorned a rather pretty white apron with frills at the bottom. She brought a ladle full of soup up to his mouth as she stood on her tiptoes.

He pretended to aim his mouth to the ladle before diverting to her lips, stunned she received the kiss as she almost dropped the ladle out of her hand. Ivan chuckled as the tip of her ears glowed a bright red. And though she was quite bashful, she allowed him to taste the soup in the end.

Since playing around with his creation magic Ivan made quite a few things to improve the quality of cooking. Some of which aided even a vampire princess who was rather poor at the craft into making delectable meals like this. In any case, it was something he didn't think much about as the four gathered around the kitchen table to enjoy the meal.

Laughter, glee, happiness, all of it appeared to him as he watched their faces. His eyes locked with Yue's as she remembered the promise he made to her when they first met. What he had promised that day was something she fought to see, a life where they can be happy. And now she had friends and family, both of which she attributed to him.

So to thank him for all that, she pledged in her heart to protect this happiness he gave her. She flashed him the most moving smile he had ever seen as if to thank him for existing. One in which carved itself into Ivan's heart, one forever he would cherish.

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This was a rather lengthy chapter. Like I mentioned previously expect a lot of 3k worded chapters. So congrats I think... or well I don't know how you feel about this. As a comparison most of the chapters done before were in the 1800-2300 spectrum, with a couple actually being 3k. Now with all that being said I'm going to get something to eat for lunch because I am starving!

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